The Death And Resurrection Of The Beloved Son

"The near sacrifice and miraculous restoration of a beloved son is a central but largely overlooked theme in both Judaism and Christianity. This book explores how this notion of child sacrifice constitutes an overlooked bond between the two religions."--

"The near sacrifice and miraculous restoration of a beloved son is a central but largely overlooked theme in both Judaism and Christianity. This book explores how this notion of child sacrifice constitutes an overlooked bond between the two religions."--

This book explores the character of the Eucharist as communion in and through sacrifice. It will stimulate discussion because of its controversial critique of the dominant paradigm for Eucharistic theology, its reclamation of St Thomas Aquinas’s theology of the Eucharist, and its response to Pope John Paul II’s Ecclesia de Eucharistia. Argues that the Eucharist cannot be separated from sacrifice, and rediscovers the biblical connections between sacrifice and communion. Timed to coincide with the Year of the Eucharist, proclaimed by Pope John Paul II. Reclaims the riches of St Thomas Aquinas’s theology of the Eucharist, which had recently been reduced to a metaphysical defence of transubstantiation.

Many famous antique texts are misunderstood and many others have been completely dismissed, all because the literary style in which they were written is unfamiliar today. So argues Mary Douglas in this controversial study of ring composition, a technique which places the meaning of a text in the middle, framed by a beginning and ending in parallel. To read a ring composition in the modern linear fashion is to misinterpret it, Douglas contends, and today's scholars must reevaluate important antique texts from around the world. Found in the Bible and in writings from as far a field as Egypt, China, Indonesia, Greece, and Russia, ring composition is too widespread to have come from a single source. Does it perhaps derive from the way the brain works? What is its function in social contexts? The author examines ring composition, its principles and functions, in a cross-cultural way. She focuses on ring composition in Homer's Iliad, the Bible's book of Numbers, and, for a challenging modern example, Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy, developing a persuasive argument for reconstruing famous books and rereading neglected ones.

This book offers a study of the meaning of the firstborn son in the New Testament paying specific attention to the concept of primogeniture in the Old Testament and Jewish literature.

The strange and enigmatic title "son of man" has intrigued biblical scholars for millennia. What does it mean and how does it describe Jesus in his role as the Christian messiah? Robin Jarrell surveys the mythological roots of the phrase in the ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh and traces its development from the mythology of the Egyptian queen Hatshepsut's birth narrative, to the Baal Cycle in Ugaritic literature, to the story of Pandora, and finally to the story of creation found in the book of Genesis. The key to unlocking the mystery of the phrase "son of man" is embedded in the story of the first "son of man"--Noah--with the reference to "the sons of God" who found wives among the "daughters of men" and whose offspring brought devastation to the earth and the reason for the flood. In the hands of the Christian gospel writers, the parallel "son of man" figure found in the Dead Sea Scrolls reemerges in the identity of the last "son of man"--Jesus of Nazareth.

This challenging work by a notable theologian explores the origins of the Christian gospel in Israel's scriptures and calls for a reevaluation of the Old Testament and its role in the church. Paul van Buren defends the view that the early gospel arose when the disciples discovered in the story of the binding of Isaac (Gen. 22) words and images that allowed them to turn the crucifixion of Jesus and following events into the realities of Good Friday and Easter. The final statement of van Buren's respected career, According to the Scriptures offers hope that Jewish and Christian communities can be drawn closer through mutual respect for each other's interpretive traditions.

How Baptism and the Eucharist Shaped Early Christian Understandings of Jesus Long before the Gospel writers put pen to papyrus, the earliest Christians participated in the powerful rituals of baptism and the Lord's Supper, which fundamentally shaped their understanding of God, Christ, and the world in which they lived. In this volume, a respected biblical scholar and teacher explores how cultural anthropology and ritual studies elucidate ancient texts. Charles Bobertz offers a liturgical reading of the Gospel of Mark, arguing that the Gospel is a narrative interpretation of early Christian ritual. This fresh, responsible, and creative proposal will benefit scholars, professors, and students. Its ecclesial and pastoral ramifications will also be of interest to church leaders and pastors.